Being Human
by HuskieDawg
Summary: After the events of "Strange Times of Gravity Falls", Bill learns that being human is not always easy. 7 short stories about Bill learning how ro be human set after the events of " Strange Times in Gravity Falls". Foreshadowing of bigger events scattered throughout! STRANGE TIMES IN GRAVITY FALLS 2 COMING SOON!
1. How to be Human

He awoke to a sizzling sound coming from somewhere down the hall, and golden light filtering through the window and into his face.

He sighed and buried his face into his pillow. He wasn't ready to wake up yet. The Dreamscape was where he was king, and to Bill, the waking world was completely foreign and at times very tedious.

Bill Cipher yawned and sat up. The work day would start down, and Stan Pines had told him he could stay at the Mystery Shack only if he earned his keep.

It was now mid September. And the previous adventure he'd had with the Pine twins had cost him his omnipresent form and now Bill was trapped in the form of a human.

Bill opened the closet and grabbed uniform he was supposed to wear that day: khaki pants with a golden tee shirt depicting a question mark. He was going to be helping Soos with maintenance.

As Bill prepared himself for the day ahead of him, he took careful note of the list Mabel had left him for human hygiene: shower (NOT in your clothes! Singing: optional.), dry off with a clean towel (do not air dry. It takes too long!), put on underwear, socks, pants, and shirt, comb hair, do a unibrow check, shave, brush teeth (do NOT eat the toothpaste, annnnnd...smile!

Bill followed these steps diligently, and stepped out into the hallway and into the kitchen where Stan was making bacon and eggs.

"Hey Bill," Stan greeted, dumping some food onto a plate and passing it to him.

"Thanks," said Bill, and he shoved his nose into the food to determine whether or not it smelled good. "Hmmmm... Smells like food!"

Stan rubbed his eyes.

"Bill, you don't have to smear your face in the food to smell it!" Stan grumbled.

Bill lifted his head up and sniffed again. He grinned. Brilliant! The odor of the food wafted into his nose, but the food stayed on his plate. No need for getting anything up his nose anymore!

"Better?" Stan chuckled.

"Yes!" Exclaimed Bill, and he began to devour his food.

Since Mabel had left, Bill had learned to eat more efficiently, and was finished in a short amount of time. He dashed into the gift shop with a grin and a belch, snatching his cane up along the way.

Bill glanced around, there was no one in yet, so he took a seat behind the counter and began to doodle on it with a pen. He drew some trees and the multibear. Once he was satisfied with his masterpiece, he sat back in the chair.

He sat, grinning. He wasn't sure how long he was there for, but it was long enough that the sun was high up in the sky. Bill frowned. Where was everyone? It had to be 1:00 in the afternoon!

Stan entered the room, laughing.

"Stan, where is everyone?" Bill asked. "It's 1:00 and they're not here yet!"

Stan laughed harder.

"Ah Bill... Today's Sunday!...We're closed on Sundays!" Stan laughed.

"Oh." Bill said.

"Wait..." Stan said, gazing down at the counter. "What did you do to my desk?!"

He looked down at his drawing, he'd thought adding a little art to the splintery brown surface would be perfectly acceptable, but Stan's beet red face said otherwise...

Bill gulped. He thought being a human would be unbearably simple, but it was shaping up to be harder than he'd anticipated!


	2. Halloween

Stan sat at the kitchen table scribbling down equations. The moon was high in the sky, and a faint breeze rustled through the trees.

Bill sat staring out the window, his hand submerged in a bowl full of candy. He wore the golden sweater Mabel had knitted for him before she'd left and his top hat for good measure. After all, tonight was a very special night, and unlike Stan, Bill was determined to not let the search for Stan's brother get in the way.

Stan was mumbling to himself irritatedly, pulling Bill from his excited mood.

Bill sighed and searched the man's mind. For some reason he'd got it in his head that if he could rebuild his portal, he would find his brother.

Bill knew it would never work. Stan's brother was not trapped in another dimension, but rather trapped in a different form. But of course Stan didn't fully understand whenever Bill tried to explain.

The doorbell rang, and Bill sprang up to get it. He'd rather be answering the door than picking arguments with Stan, anyways.

He rushed over, bowl of candy in hand. He swung the door open with a grin.

"Trick or treat!" Yelled the pile of kids standing on the front porch.

"Hmmm..." said Bill. "I think trick!"

The kids on the porch booed.

"It's not spin the bottle, Bill! Just give them the candy!" Stan called from inside.

"Right!" exclaimed Bill.

Bill held out the candy, and each kid shuffled up to take a candy. As they bounced away, Bill suddenly felt nostalgic. For centuries he'd spent Halloween roaming the streets, unseen by those around him. He was merely a shadow to the world unless called upon. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he'd actually participated in Halloween festivities. He chuckled to himself. It had been long enough that "trick or treat" had morphed from an option to a demand for candy.

The doorbell rang again and Bill rushed over to find Wendy at the door dressed in Viking attire.

"Trick or treat!" Bill exclaimed.

"Other way around Bill!" Stan corrected. "You just hand out candy!"

Wendy laughed.

"Hey Bill!" She chuckled. "I see you've been put on candy duty?"

Bill set the bowl down.

"You've for that right, Red!" Bill exclaimed. "I happen to be the best there is at it!"

Stan rolled his eyes, and Wendy smiled.

"Well hey," she began. "If you think Stan could handle candy duty, I was going to see if you wanted to go to the Gravity Falls costume party?"

Bill looked at the candy bowl. He was having fun handing out candy but he hadn't been to a costume party before...except maybe to freak people out as a spooky apparition. He looked to Stan who shrugged.

"Do whatever you want to do." Stan grunted.

He turned to Wendy.

"Sure thing Red!" he said, grinning.

The two headed off to the party right away. It was at the Northwest Mansion, and Bill couldn't help but feel excited.

As they entered the mansion, Bill spotted Wendy's friends, Tambry and Robbie.

"Hey guys!" Wendy called, rushing towards them.

Bill almost followed, but was distracted by someone calling out.

"And now!" The voice declared. "I will be performing magic tricks! Who's ready?"

Bill turned to see Pacifica standing on a stage, dressed like a magician. She was performing unbearably simple magic tricks, and the crowd was going wild.

Bill frowned. He could do all of those tricks! In fact...

Bill hopped up on stage, and Pacifica looked mortified.

"What are you-?!" She shrieked, but Bill cut her off.

"Wow! Those were some great tricks kid!" Bill said. "Folks, let's give her a round of applause! Very nice! Now. For everyone who doesn't know me, the name's Bill Cipher! Allow me to show you some real magic!"

Everyone looked confused, and Pacifica looked furious. Bill didn't mind though, he was about to dazzle and amaze them all with some real magic!

Bill snapped and allowed a blue flame to appear in his hand, which he juggled for a brief amount of time. The crowd wasn't cheering yet, in fact they were all very silent. Bill frowned, and thought for a moment.

Telepathy. Telepathy would impress them more than the fire!

"Now I am going to read some minds!" Bill declared, scanning the room for some noteworthy thoughts. "Sheriff Blubbs secretly wants to be a duck, Bud Gleeful is happy that Gideon is back in prison, Manly Dan can't spell his own name, and Lazy Susan is madly in love with Jeff the gnome even though she doesn't quite remember him!"

He looked down at the crowd, they looked shocked, but they still weren't cheering. He frowned. What a tough crowd! He furrowed his brow, his powers had been greatly lessened since he'd been trapped in this body, but he thought he might attempt some illusions anyways.

He focused hard. It would be tough, but he was sure he could pull it off.

The crowd shrieked as Bill created a massive dragon made of blue flame. It was working! They loved it! He made the dragon swoop over the crowd and dissipate into the sky. He glanced at his shadow, and willed it to tap dance on its own. He and the shadow took turns trying to outdo each other at tap dancing until Bill wrote "The End" in cursive letters in front of him and bowed through them.

He'd put on a pretty good show, but something wasn't right. The crowd had disappeared except for Wendy, who was laughing and shaking her head.

"Wait, where'd everyone go? I heard them cheering just a minute ago!" Bill said, puzzled.

But Wendy only laughed harder.

"Bill they weren't cheering, they were screaming! They all ran off when you made that crazy fire dragon!" Wendy laughed.

"Oh." said Bill, sitting on the edge of the stage.

He'd thought they'd be impressed!

"Hey, don't feel bad Bill!" said Wendy. "Let's head back to the Mystery Shack. After all, we can't trust with candy duty for too long!"

Bill smiled, and they began to head back. To Bill, it had been the best Halloween yet.


	3. Matter Over Mind

Bill sat at the bottom of the stairs, he'd gone down quite quickly, and something was off. He frowned. No matter how hard he tried, his leg seemed to retaliate every time he attempted to bear weight on it.

Perplexed, he tried to will it to work but to no avail.

The leg ached, and Bill winced with every attempt he made at standing.

Stan rounded the corner and spotted him.

"Hey Bill, why are you sitting on the ground?" Stan asked, one eyebrow raised.

Bill struggled to get up again.

"Well, my leg decided to stop working." Bill replied, tipping back over.

Stan sighed and knelt down by the frustrated young man.

"Look Bill, you're not going to be able to stand on it if you've got a busted shin." Stan explained.

"Mind over matter!" Bill declared defiantly.

"Eh, let me know how that works for ya." Stan grumbled, and he stood up and walked off. "If you wisen up and decide you want help, just holler. I'll be in the kitchen."

Bill stuck his tongue out at Stan as soon as he'd turned his back. Stan didn't know anything. If Bill thought about it hard enough, the leg would mend and he'd strut into the kitchen triumphantly just to prove to Stan how wrong he was.

After about 30 minutes, Bill rose from the ground with a grin on his face. It was a little wobbly, but it would be more than enough to prove Stan wrong!

He stumbled down the hallway, immensely proud of the feat he'd accomplished. He couldn't wait to see Stan's face...

Bill entered the kitchen, and Stan turned and gasped.

"Voilà!" said Bill. "Mind over matter wins!"

But Stan looked horrified and quickly rushed to Bill.

"Bill, we gotta get you to the hospital!" Stan shrieked.

"But I'm walking. That must mean it's good, right? That means I was right all along!" Bill gloated.

"Yes, but does it hurt?" Stan demanded.

"Well-" Bill started, gritting his teeth.

It was fairly painful.

"And are you balancing well?" Stan growled.

"I- pfft. Why does any of that matter? I'm going outside!" Bill stammered, and he tried to turn around but tipped back over.

"Because a sideways leg doesn't qualify as fixed!" Stan yelled, and he yanked Bill up and set him on a chair. "Stay! I'm getting you to the hospital!"

A few hours later Bill sat comfortably on the couch of the Mystery Shack with his leg casted and propped up on a pile of pillows. Stan was in the other room arguing with someone over the phone about "hospital bills".

Bill sighed. He couldn't believe he was wrong. He was never wrong!

Stan entered the room, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Bill, this is the third time this month I've had to take you to the hospital! First you choked trying to swallow a turnip whole, then the stitches from smashing that mirror with your face, and now this!" he exclaimed, he looked irritated. "Bill we gotta lay down some ground rules if you're going to stay here! I can't stop paying for hospital bills or I'm gonna be broke by Christmas!"

Bill frowned.

"But Soos said smashing mirrors was bad luck! I had to show him it was totally fine, and snakes swallow things whole all the time!" Bill said.

"Look," Stan sighed, sitting down on the couch next to Bill. "You're not indestructible anymore. There are physical limitations to being human if you haven't noticed. You can't keep doing this kind of stuff or something really bag's going to happen! You need to start taking care of yourself."

Bill nodded.

"I think I understand." Bill muttered. "I haven't quite got used to being a human again."

Stan smiled.

"It's okay kid," he said. "It's gonna take a little time. Just remember to be careful and make smart choices. Can you so that for me?"

Bill nodded, and Stan left the room.

He flipped on the TV, and gazed at the characters on the screen. It wouldn't be long before he'd be walking again according to the nurse, but until then he knew he'd be beyond bored.

Bill sighed. Why was it so hard for him? It wasn't like he'd never inhabited a body before! And yet everything was still so foreign. He thought of Mabel and smiled. She had been right all those months ago, he really didn't know very much about the human body. But he was learning, and now he resolved to take better care of himself. It'd be more fun that way.


	4. Snow

Shower. Dry off. Get dressed. Brush teeth.

He was finally getting the hang of it. Bill smiled to himself. Mabel would be so proud when she him! He was finally becoming a fully functional human being.

He hadn't had any major accidents since breaking his leg, he had kept freaking strangers out to a minimum, he'd learned how to eat properly, and was even learning about exercise.

He headed down stairs, remembering to walk instead of just throwing himself down. Efficient? Maybe not. Safe? Most definitely!

Bill sat down at the table and began to read the newspaper. He chuckled. It was funny how much the news got wrong!

He glanced at the clock. It was 6:30 in the morning. Stan wouldn't be up for another hour, but that was just the way Bill liked it. He enjoyed having an hour in the morning all to himself, an hour where he wasn't being told what to do, talked to, or thinking about a way to find Stan's brother. He sighed, and stood up to look out the window. A soft, white light was shining through, and Bill lifted up the blinds, curious.

His eyes widened with excitement when he saw the white blanket of snow that surrounded the Mystery Shack. He'd seen and observed snow before, but this would be the first time he would actually experience it.

He crept for the door, his heart was racing. As he gently opened the door, he felt a slight breeze ruffle his golden hair, and a grin spread across his face.

Bill tread softly onto the porch. The air was crisp and still, and small snowflakes floated to the ground, adding to the sea of white that coated the forest.

Bill stepped out into the snow, barefoot. A shiver ran up his spine. It was colder than he'd imagined. But that didn't stop him from venturing out further into the cold. Bill knelt down and rubbed his hands in the snow, amazed by the the way it melted when pressed up against his pink skin.

He looked up at the sky and admired the silvery white clouds. One big flake hit him in the eye, and he blinked it away, laughing.

The wind rustled through the trees and he laughed a little more. What a feeling! Perhaps being human did have its benefits. Bill has never experienced snow like this before.

Suddenly he leaped up and danced around. He wasn't sure where the urge had come from, but he felt so happy standing in front of the Mystery Shack, enjoying the snow. He couldn't resist!

He tried to catch the flakes and examine them before they melted, amazed by their intricate hexagonal shape. He ran back and forth, kicking up the powered and watching it glitter as it fell back to the ground.

He stood, smiling amidst the mess he'd made of the pristine snow before turning around and heading back inside.

Bill was soaking wet, and the warm air burned his fingers and toes as he tiptoed back up the stairs.

He couldn't wipe the grin off his face as he dried off and found new, dry clothes to wear.

So this was why people loved snow! He headed back downstairs and brewed some warm tea for himself. An owl fluttered past the window and landed on a nearby tree.

A thought struck Bill. If snow was this fantastic as a human, then he couldn't wait to find out what Christmas was like...


	5. Christmas

Bill lay awake in his bed. It was 3:00 in the morning, but he couldn't contain his excitement.

Christmas Eve was the next day! He'd spent all of December carefully selecting presents for his friends and he couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they saw what he'd found for them.

The presents were all wrapped. He'd struggled for hours trying to make them perfect, and after using plenty of tape and ribbons, he was satisfied.

Bill sighed. It was no use trying to sleep! He sat up and sat cross legged on his bed. Perhaps a short trip into the mindscape would tire him out enough to let him sleep?

Bill closed his eyes and drifted up out of his body. The world turned silver around him as he floated through the walls of the Mystery Shack.

He floated past Stan who was sleeping on the couch. Bill paused and watched as Stan's dream swirled up above his head.

Bill snickered as images of Stan winning a beauty/football pageant floated near Stan in the mindscape. He'd have to keep that in mind if he ever wanted to blackmail the old man!

As Bill left the Mystery Shack, a sense of wonder overwhelmed him. Being human for this long had caused him to forget how much he loved drifting through the mindscape, seeing everything how it was, not the way it was covered up to be.

As he drifted through the snow covered woods and past Wendy's house, he noticed Wendy wasn't sleeping either. But she sat looking out her window, looking sad.

Bill hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to intrude, but he read her mind. He wanted Wendy to be happy. It was almost Christmas!

Shapes of Dipper appeared in his vision, and he realized that Wendy was missing him.

Bill thought for a moment. He had to think of a way to get Wendy to see Dipper. That would most certainly cheer her up.

An idea popped into Bill's head and he grinned before soaring back to the Mystery Shack...

Stan got off the phone and rubbed his eyes.

"Well, they said it'd be okay and they're excited." Stan yawned. "Now hurry up and let's round up Soos and Wendy. I'm making Soos drive so I can nap the whole way."

"Sure thing!" Bill exclaimed and he rushed out the door to find Soos packing suitcases and presents in the truck.

"Dude!" Soos called out to Bill. "I'm like, so excited! This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!"

Bill grinned.

"No kidding! I can't wait to see the look on Red's face when-" Bill started, but he was cut off.

"See the look on my face when what?" Wendy's voice came from behind him.

"Red!" Bill exclaimed. "You made it! Now. How much do you know? Wait no. Don't tell me. Let me see... Hmmm...right! Skiing! So your dad told you. Darn! Well I guess it's not a surprise anymore!"

Soos looked confused.

"But I thought we were gonna-" Soos began, but Bill elbowed him in the gut and tried to wink... But that proved to be hard with his eyepatch.

He wasn't going to let Soos ruin the real surprise!

"Question Mark thought we were gonna go see the red lobster man with the reindeer!" Bill lied.

"Uh, you mean Santa?" Wendy asked, looking puzzled.

"Right!" Said Bill. "I told him we were going somewhere far away so...uh..."

Bill stopped talking. Wendy was looking suspicious, so he decided he'd make himself useful and began putting snow in the trunk along with everything else.

"Ugh dude? Why are you doing that?" Soos questioned.

"Because we'll need lots of snow for this to work." Bill said, matter of factly.

Wendy laughed.

"Haha! Bill, you goober, there'll be snow up there! Even you should know that!" She giggled.

Bill paused. He'd realized just how silly he was being. But Wendy didn't understand. They needed to pack some snow because there wasn't going to be snow where they were going. Stan had said there was no snow at Dipper and Mabel's house. And of course, it would be very hard to have a snowball fight with Mabel and Dipper without snow.

Bill looked down at his hands and frowned. They were dripping wet. He glanced at Soos and Wendy, embarrassed. The snow wasn't going to make it far in the car ride anyways. It was already melting pretty quickly in his hands!

The journey started a few minutes later, Soos drove with Wendy in the front while Bill and Stan took seats in the back. There was very little traffic as they headed south. Hours passed as they drove, and Bill noticed Wendy looking a little perplexed. She was obviously wondering why they were driving to a ski resort that was so far away.

Bill smiled to himself. She had no idea.

The sun had gone by the time they pulled up to the Piedmont house. Wendy's jaw dropped.

"Wait. This isn't a ski resort." She whispered as she climbed out of the car.

Bill could see Stan grinning as they made their way up to the porch. The glimmer of Christmas lights added to the excitement as none other than Dipper Pines flung the door open.

"Wendy!" Dipper exclaimed, and he rushed over to embrace her.

"Dipper!" Wendy laughed, throwing her arms around him.

Stan laughed, and Bill noticed happy tears rolling down Wendy's face. Bill grinned to himself, when he heard a voice squeak from inside.

"Are they here?" He heard Mabel's voice asking from inside the house, and just a moment later she too was on the porch hugging Stan, Soos, and Wendy.

"You guys came!" Dipper exclaimed. "We missed you so much!"

He hugged Stan.

"Anything for you two kids..." Stan chuckled, smiling softly.

Mabel turned her head and noticed Bill.

"Bill!" She cried, her already giant smile growing bigger. "You came to!"

She leaped into his arms and he hugged her, a little surprised.

"Of course I did!" He responded, smiling. "I'd never miss a chance to see you guys, Shooting Star!"

The ecstatic group made their way into the house. They ate turkey, sang songs, and opened a few presents by the Christmas tree.

"Aw Bill, a gold chain, for me?" Stan laughed as he held up his present.

"It's like he just knew exactly what we wanted!" Soos declared, holding up his new Little Big Dog CD.

He glanced at Wendy and Dipper who were enjoying their new presents, a secret code book and an autshouldel picture of Abe Lincoln for Dipper and a new music player for Wendy.

Mabel eagerly tore into her gift, Waddles snuffling curiously at the mounds of tape and wrapping paper.

"A light up rainbow sweater!" Mabel shouted, smiling at Bill. "Thank you so much!"

The group laughed and told stories all night. Bill excitedly told Mabel about all of his human accomplishments. She even have him a sticker for everything he'd worked on. Mabel dangled a stick of mistletoe above Wendy and Dipper, and Soos and Bill cheered as Wendy planted a kiss on Dipper's cheek. Dipper grinned and quickly kissed her back.

Bill smiled to himself, slipping a sugar cookie into his mouth. So this was Christmas. He glanced around. What a feeling it was to have the people he cared about most in one room again!

Mabel had fallen asleep with her head resting on Bill's shoulder, Dipper and Wendy were dressing Waddles in wrapping paper, and Stan was telling Soos about the time he'd thought he'd seen an actual red nosed reindeer.

Bill sighed and looked happily out the window. Everything was perfect. This was certainly a Christmas he would never forget. And he realized that even though he wasn't his old, all powerful self... He wouldn't have it any other way.


	6. Friends

Carefully...carefully...

Bill could feel a single drop of sweat roll down his forehead as he stood poised, in the kitchen.

He was exasperated. Who'd think such a simple task would prove to be such hard work? He'd only caught a few things on fire in his attempt at making it, but this finishing touch would be the most important part of his creation.

He was crouching down, his eye level with the plate of pancakes, attempting to pour the perfect amount of syrup on the top. This had to be perfection, after all.

A rustling sound made him jump, dumping an excess amount of syrup into the pile. Bill turned his head to see a gray owl flapping its wings at the window. Irritated, Bill closed the shutters. He wasn't going to let a stupid owl ruin the surprise!

A shiver ran down Bill's spine. Lately owls made him feel spooked, like he was being watched...

Bill shrugged and picked up the plate. It was no use worrying about it now, he wouldn't be back in Gravity Falls until January. Without any of the books for reference, he'd need to figure out why owls were so spooky based on memory, which was getting fuzzier and fuzzier the more human he became.

As he turned to creep up the stairs, he bumped into Mabel, nearly spilling pancakes on the ground.

"Oh! Mabel! Uhh, what are you doing up so early?" Bill stammered.

His cover was blown!

"I always get up at five in the morning on Christmas ya goober!" Mabel laughed. "Whatcha got there?"

"Ugh I..." Bill sighed. "I got up early to make you some breakfast..."

Mabel gasped and took the pancakes, grinning.

"Thank you Bill! How did you know I like so much syrup on my pancakes?" She exclaimed.

"I thought I'd do something nice since you've been so nice to me." said Bill, as Mabel tore into her pancakes. "I guess it's just nice to have friends, you know?"

Mabel paused, smiling.

"Of course!" she paused. "I never did get to thank you for saving my life last summer... Why'd you do it?"

Bill hesitated, he wasn't sure himself. Something had come over him. Something he couldn't explain, something he'd never experienced before; except maybe once, a very very long time ago...

"Because, you're my friend." Bill said, it was the closest he could come to putting it into words.

Mabel smiled.

"You're my friend too, Bill."

Bill smiled, and headed back into the kitchen. He has lots of friends to make pancakes for, and if they were anything like Mabel, they'd be up soon!


	7. Overwhelmed

Bill poked his head out from underneath his blanket. Was that it? Was it over?

There was another bright flash and his ears rang. He burrowed his head farther under the covers. His ears couldn't take it anymore!

Everyone else was outside contributing to the ruckus of flashes and booms. Bill jammed his fingers in his ears. His ears felt overwhelmed at the sudden influx of sound, and his head spun detecting each new crash.

Flash. Red. Boom. White. Crackle. Blue.

Something touched his shoulder and he jumped.

"Bill?" A voice squeaked.

Bill peeked out of his mound of blankets to see Mabel, looking concerned. He hadn't even noticed her enter, his senses were so overwhelmed.

"I know it's New Year's," Bill stammered. "But must the world destroy my eardrums?"

Mabel patted him on the head.

"I know it's loud, Waddles is hiding too!" She said cheerily. "Wait here, I have something that might help!"

Bill nodded and Mabel pranced away. Bill rubbed his eyes. An image of him in his old form kept appearing in red with every flash from the fireworks. He didn't understand why, but it bothered him and reminded him off the monster he was...

The light in his temporary room flicked on.

"There, that should help!" Mabel declared.

Bill blinked, realizing that the light in the room dulled the brightness of the fireworks. Mabel walked over to him and handed him some paper, crayons, and earmuffs. She sat down and started drawing, and Bill clambered out from the pile of blankets, putting on the earmuffs and joining her.

He sighed. The booms were muffled thanks to the pink fluff over his ears. He relaxed, picking up some crayons and a sheet of paper. He drew a giant turkey in a top hat, an apple, Waddles, and a dog. He gazed happily at his art, glad that visions of his old self had stopped swimming through his vision.

Bill glanced at Mabel's masterpiece, and his smile grew. She was drawing the Mystery Shack crew (including Bill) flying kites with Waddles.

He didn't understand why he was struggling. Perhaps exhaustion? He hadn't slept the past few nights. Ever since he'd been noticing owls everywhere, he was at wits end trying to decide if he was crazy or if there was danger lurking around the corner...

That night Bill lay awake. He couldn't sleep no matter how hard he tried. Something was bothering him. He wasn't sure what, but it was something important. His human brain couldn't wrap around it and he lay on his bed. He groaned. If he was in his old form he would know. He should know everything and he wouldn't have to struggle to remember. And whatever was going on it wouldn't bother him. He could just snap his fingers, cause chaos, and laugh it off...

No. He shook his head. He was who he was now. There was no way he was going back to being the monster he'd been before. Even if he knew how.

Being human had taught him that. Earlier that day, Mabel explained to him that New Year's was a time for new beginning's. A time for celebration. A fresh start.

Bill pushed his fretting aside and gazed out the window.

His friends needed him. If something really was happening, he needed to be there for them to protect them.

He needed to push aside the nightmares, the overwhelming senses that had been thrust upon him, the fear of being the monster he used to be, the past that constantly haunted him...

No, he needed to forget all of that. He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes, and drifted off without noticing.

And for once, there were no loud sounds. No nightmares. No owls. No grievous past...

Just warm wind blowing across his face. A never ending blue sky, and a long stretch of and in front of him. The pyramids towered over him.

Bill smiled at the familiar sight. It'd been years since he'd been here. He'd relished the picnic he'd had here in another life, and remembered how the whole trip had changed him.

With a wave of his hand he changed to scene to the snow covered Mystery Shack. He looked at the fresh blanket of snow then up at the moon.

He grinned. Enjoying the pleasantness of his dreams. After all, it wouldn't last long...


End file.
